A Walt Disney Co.-led initiative effort is close to collecting enough signatures to put the issue of homes in the Anaheim Resort area to a vote, according to backers.
The initiative would bar non-tourist development in the area around Disney’s theme parks unless they are approved by Anaheim voters.
The Disney-led group, dubbed Save Our Anaheim Resort, saw a setback on Tuesday when a 3-2 City Council majority voted to allow homes within the Anaheim Resort District.
The group has 30 days to gather 13,200 signatures in an effort to overturn the council’s decision.
Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, State Senator Lou Correa (D-Anaheim), Orange County Clerk-Recorder Tom Daly (former mayor of Anaheim) and Lucy Dunn, chief executive of the Orange County Business Council, back the group’s efforts.
“If a council on a split vote wants to overturn good planning, the public should have a say in that,” Dunn said. “Good planning has to be (for) a period of years it’s not a sound bite.”
The issue has pitted Disney against Irvine-based SunCal Cos., which wants to develop 1,500 homes on land zoned for a hotel next to a possible third Disney park.
